1893 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
497 
THE PROSPECT. 
In no other country on the globe have women so 
fair a show before the law as in the United States. 
Indeed, in some of the States the laws with regard to 
the possession and inheritance of property are alleged 
by many to be a trifle unjustly favorable to them. 
These, however, are the exceptions, for in most of 
the States the old “common law” discriminations 
against them are still to some extent in force, but 
every year in one State or another juster statute 
laws supersede these old-time abuses. At its last 
session, for instance, the Pennsylvania Legislature 
enlarged the rights of married women before the law. 
The act provides that a married woman may have the 
same right and power as an unmarried person to ac¬ 
quire, use, lease and dispose of property, but she may 
not mortgage or lease real estate unless her husband 
joins. She may also make any contract, in writing or 
otherwise, which is necessary, appropriate, convenient 
or advantageous; but she may not become an accommo¬ 
dation indorser, guarantor or surety for another. She 
may sue and be sued civilly, but she may not sue her 
husband except for divorce, or to protect or recover 
separate property when deserted or refused support, 
and he may sue her for divorce, or to protect or re¬ 
cover his property when deserted by her; but she 
shall not be arrested for her torts or wrong-doing. 
In suits between husband and wife both shall be com¬ 
petent witnesses, but cannot testify to confidential 
communications except by agreement. She may dis¬ 
pose by will of all her property, but her husband’s 
rights, as tentant by courtesy, shall not be affected. 
This is in line with recent legislation in New York 
and several other States. Everywhere the tendency 
is towards a more complete recognition of the legal 
individuality of persons made “ one ” by legal and 
religious ceremonies. Haven’t women hitherto shown 
themselves worthy of all the liberty they have secured? 
X X X 
Probabey nothing has done so much to check the 
recent alarming tendency to a disastrous financial 
panic in the United States as the timely action of the 
New 'i ork Clearing House in offering to its members 
the aid of Clearing House certificates to enable them 
either to tide over a difficulty or extend greater credit 
or discount facilities to their customers. The benefit 
to the finances of the country at large was greatly in¬ 
creased by the prompt imitation of this example by 
similar institutions in several other monetary centers 
in different States. The Clearing House system, now 
the greatest facility for financial transactions in all 
the great monetary centers of the world, originated 
in London in 1775. Before that each banker had to 
send clerks to the places of business of all the other 
bankers in London to collect the sums payable by 
them in the shape of checks drawn and bills payable 
at their respective houses. Even at that date of com¬ 
paratively small monetary transactions, this required 
an enormous amount of clerical work and the transfer 
of large quantities of coin and other forms of money, 
and proportionate risks in transit. The new institu¬ 
tion was a place where the clerks of the various 
bankers could assemble daily to exchange with one- 
another the checks drawn upon and bills payable. 
From this small beginning the system has developed, 
in a little over 100 years, until now it is an indispens¬ 
able adjunct to the financial transactions of all large 
cities. j , j 
The New York Clearing House embraces 64 city 
banks with a total capital of .$60,422,000, and aggre¬ 
gate deposits, on May 13 last, amounting to $434,865,900. 
A number of other city banks which are not members 
of the “ Associated Banks,” as well as a large number 
of country banks, do their “ clearing ” through some 
one of the members. By an ingenious but ready 
system, the different credit and debit accounts of all 
the members for or against each other, are rapidly 
balanced twice a day—in the fore and afternoon—and 
the cash balances are paid by checks. These average 
daily, the year round, only about 3% per cent of the 
total amount of the settlements, so that by the inter¬ 
vention of this institution $3.50 are made to do the 
work that would require $100 to do without it, and 
which does, in fact, require $100 in country places 
where men are isolated. The “clearings” in the New 
York Clearing House average considerably over twice 
as much as those of all the other Clearing Houses 
combined. 
XXX 
Of Clearing House certificates $23,000,000 worth 
have already been issued in New York city, and prob¬ 
ably $15,000,000 more by Clearing Houses elsewhere. 
These have afforded enormous relief to all the business 
interests of the country, for, though they are issued 
only to the members of the various Clearing Houses, 
the aid thus afforded enables the latter to help 
weaker banks at home and even in distant States, and 
these in turn are enabled to help their customers by 
extending their credit or discounting their paper more 
liberally than they otherwise could do. Thus, no 
doubt, a multitude of disastrous bankruptcies have 
been averted. The certificates are issued only on de¬ 
posit with the Clearing House of excellent securities, 
the normal market value of which is 25 per cent more 
than the amount covered by the certificates. They 
are in no sense money or currency, but simply trans¬ 
ient credits between the banks, the debts between 
which remain unpaid by mutual agreement, while se¬ 
curity is put up for their ultimate payment. Thus, if 
100 farmers doing business with each other should 
mutually agree that they wouldn’t ask for balances 
due from one to another, but would be content with 
obligations pledging farm stock or implements for 
ultimate payment, they would be acting in the same 
way, the murket value of the securities being 25 per 
cent more than the amount advanced. The great 
trouble thus avoided is the forcing of excellent securi¬ 
ties on the market during a period of financial strin¬ 
gency, when only a very inadequate proportion of 
their real value can be realized. 
THE BUTTER AND CHEESE TRADE. 
SOME OF ITS INS AND OUTS. 
If there is any farm product that requires more care 
and better facilities in handling than another, it is 
milk and its products. The R. N.-Y. has repeat¬ 
edly advised farmers not to ship butter particu¬ 
larly to general dealers and commission men. The 
merchant who deals in a general assortment of fruits 
and vegetables, not to mention live and dressed 
poultry, veal calves, and almost every kind of produce, 
hasn’t generally the facilities for properly storing and 
handling butter, or the best class of customers to 
whom to sell it. Cold storage is a necessity for the 
best care of butter, and few of the general dealers 
have this. 
The firm of R. J. (iarner & Co., 53 Little Twelfth 
Street, makes a specialty of butter, cheese and eggs. 
“ How is the butter market?” I asked Mr. (Iarner 
the other day. 
“ It’s in good condition. There isn’t a heavy stock 
on hand, and the demand is good.” 
Facts About “Elgin Creamery” Butter. 
“ Why is it that Elgin creamery is always quoted 
higher than other grades of butter ? Is it of better 
quality ? ” 
“ It’s good butter, but no better than many other 
makes. Still there are people who have used it for a 
long time, and they don’t want any other. I have 
customers whom I have supplied with it for seven 
years, and they won’t have any other.” 
“ Is all the Elgin creamery sold made in Elgin ? ” 
“ No ; but it is made in Illinois.” 
“Where are the other Western creamery butters 
made ? ” 
“ In several of the Western States. We get a great 
deal from Iowa, and I think that State makes some 
of the best butter that comes to market.” 
Mr. Garner brought out several tubs of butter from 
the refrigerator, and put the trier into them to show 
their quality. They were all creamery make—Elgin, 
State and Pennsylvania—packed in 50-pound firkins 
and tubs, covered over the tops closely with clean, 
white cloths, covered with salt, and this covered with 
parchment paper closely pressed in around the edges, 
the covers securely fastened on. 
“Do you think these are worked enough to keep 
well ? ” I asked, as considerable brine oozed out of the 
samples. 
“No, they aren’t made to keep; they are not 
worked enough for that. They are first-class butters 
for the trade, and just what there is a demand for.” 
The different samples varied somewhat in color, 
but I think no one not an expert could tell “ t’other 
from which.” “ I get a cent a pound more for the 
Elgin than for the others ; but many dealers are buy¬ 
ing the other makes, as they give just as good satis¬ 
faction. Here is a tub from the Seward Creamery, 
Nebraska.” The trier showed a firmer, higher-colored 
butter, with a larger proportion of salt. “ That but¬ 
ter will keep until next winter and be as good as it is 
now,” said Mr. Garner. 
Different Grades of Butter. 
“ What kind of butter is imitation creamery ? ” 
“ It is butter that is picked up around the country, 
worked up together, ground over, perhaps colored a 
little more and then repacked.” 
“ Who buy it ? ” 
“ It goes largely to bakers and confectioners. It 
won’t keep for any length of time, but they get it 
cheap and it answers their purpose very well.” 
“ Do you sell much of it ? ” 
“ Very little ; I haven’t much trade of that kind. Of 
course, if any is sent to me, I can find a market for it.” 
“ What is factory butter ? ” 
“ Much the same as imitation creamery. It is picked 
up all over the country by country stores and dealers, 
and sent to the factories, where it is worked over and 
repacked for market. One of our men when traveling 
through the West, saw a lot of roll butter that had 
been packed in a kerosene oil barrel for shipment. 
Oh, they gather up all sorts.” 
“ What is the best size for butter packages ? ” 
“ Tubs or firkins holding about 50 pounds each.” 
“ Wood or tin ? ” 
“ Wood.” 
“ What are the Welsh tubs spoken of in market quo¬ 
tations 9 ” 
“Those having wooden hoops. You see this tub of 
State butter I showed you is in a Welsh tub, having 
wooden hoops. This one from Pennsylvania has 
iron hoops.” 
“ Which are best?” 
“We like the Welsh tubs best ? ” 
“ What are the pails we see quoted ? ” 
“ These blue pails and tubs that are returned to tte 
creameries. They come only from nearby points. 
Then some dealers have a tub into which the scrap¬ 
ings fro n the tubs, the dirty butter and the refuse 
generally are thrown, and this goes to the bakers for 
a few cents a pound. I tell ybu, it is a good thing we 
don’t know what we are eating many times.” 
The Cheese Trade as It Is. 
“ Is the cheese trade good now ? ” 
“ Yes, first-rate. The demand is good and the stocks 
on hand are not large. Let me show you some sam¬ 
ples. Here is a white skim that we get about three 
cents a pound for. Here is one of about the same grade, 
but colored, while this is a full-cream. There isn’t 
much doubt as to which you had rather eat, is there ? ” 
“ I should say not.” And yet this skim cheese is 
just what we get in many stores for regular full-cream 
cheese. Is it any wonder that we don’t eat more 
cheese than we do ? 
“ Is most of the skim cheese sold for home consump¬ 
tion, or for export ?” 
“We sell a great deal for export.” 
“ I suppose that when it goes abroad it is marked 
skim cheese ?” 
“ I suppose so ; I don’t know what it is marked. I 
know it is marked skim cheese when it goes from 
here.” 
“ About what proportion of the cheese that you 
handle is made outside of the factories ?” 
“ None, I might say. It is seldom that any home¬ 
made cheese comes to this market. About everything 
now is made in the factories.” 
“ You probably have quite an advantage with your 
facilities, over the general commission merchant when 
it comes to selling any of your specialties ?” 
“Oh, yes. You see we have a regular line of cus¬ 
tomers, as well as cold storage and every facility for 
handling. I can go down in the market any day and 
pick up packages of butter for a cent or two a pound 
less than the regular price, simply because these men 
haven’t the customers to be depended upon to take these 
goods. There is every advantage in handling a special 
line of goods.” f. h. v. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Don't leave butter exposed to the air and the offensive odors and 
matters in It; and, more forcibly yet, would we say, don't cover it with 
offensive and expensive cloths. Messrs. A. G. Elliott & Co.. Philadel¬ 
phia, Pa., have done a good work In preparing a cheap paper particu¬ 
larly for covering and wrapping butter. Every person who has a 
pound of butter In the house should have some of this parchment 
butter paper. 
We are highly delighted with Dodge’s Triple milk strainer. We 
never used one till this season, but would not think cf being without 
one for the future. The value of the strainer Is in a cylindrical spout 
capped with a brass frame, In which three separate wire cloths are 
placed and screwed fast to the end of the spout by means of a second 
brass ring. This may be readily taken off and tne strainers laken out 
to be cleaned. After using this, nothing but absolute necessity would 
Induce us to go back to the old-time strainers. It Is manufactured by 
Charles H. Dodge, Washington Mills, N. Y. 
WE are glad to know that many communities In the country are con¬ 
demning the old rude school-house with Its coarse board, Ink stained 
and knife-carved seats, for more sightly buildings with modern and 
tasteful furniture. Yet In many places the old, familiar structure 
known as the district school, stands on the corner at the cross roads, 
and its broken walls and rude seats present a still more dismal 
appearance to the children than they did years ago to the parents 
and grandparents of the pupils who now occupy them. But the worst 
feature of these old schools lies not In the Immediate discomfort of the 
pupils. They often cause permament physical Infirmities. The writer 
has been In charge of schools where the desks consisted simply of 
rude boards nailed around the sides of the room under the windows. 
These desks had received a sort of a greasy coat-sleeve polish, and 
reflected the light directly Into the children’s eyes. Again, the seats 
were too low for some pupils and so high for others that blocks of fire¬ 
wood were often used to prevent the little tots’ feet from dangling in 
the air and contorting their bodies. We are glad to know that this 
style of school-house Is fast giving way to a better one. Some of the 
Western manufacturers of school furniture are now making seats 
that can be adjusted to the size of any pupil, and these, of course, 
add greatly to the comfort of the pupils. The Adjustable School Seat 
Mfg. Co., Marcellus, Mich., manufacture a superior line of these 
goods, and their catalogue should be In the hands of every school 
board In the country. 
